Tad

Hmm, ok well i've been trying to figure out my car thats been
acting totally wacky for the last week or so.

<U>STORY(exact question after this passage):</U>
basically it all started when i put my breathertube on bad, it got kinked,
and the pcv valve started spewing MAD oil allover, especially under the IM.
when that started, my car started to overheat,
I fixed the tube and oil leak, still had overheating.
fan comes on, coolant circulates, put in a new waterpump,
both top/bottom rad hoses get hot, have no leaks.
but still overheat.

now after that im at a gas station checking my fluid, with lights on and engine off(like 5min) and it wont start up again!
I have it jumped, but now the battery just keeps on dyin, like it wont get charged even if I drive it all over.
Gets to the point where my lights start dimin and gauges go all haywire.

alternator?? I jump the car and remove bat cables.. it still runs
but i'll drive it for a while and gauges will start to go haywire, and temp gauge will go way up..
and everything FLUCTUATES, like it gets better for a while, then goes to ****, then better..

<U> NOW FOR MY QUESTION:</U>
alot of oil spilled directly on the alt and the wires near/connected to it,
is the alternator sealed? is it possible that the oil damaged it or caused it to malfunction?
Its odd because everything fluctuates, sometimes the electrics will work coo,
then later they'll go bad, then get coo again.
But the battery almost never starts the car.
I have checked the battery before starting the car, it'll be at around 12.3v with car off, then 13.4v with the car running.
one time when the gauges were getting wierd and the temp gauge was high, I checked its volts.. it was at around 8 !!

so info is appreciated
and yes.. this is the millionth post i've made about some bs with my car..
one of those "YOU SUCK AT CARS" pictures wouldnt offend me

I should stick to monkeying with my suspension

The Mista Mike

Sounds like a short to me, or at least something causing the alternator to not work periodically.

Tad

hmm,
any tips on checking that?

RadiantGirla

I got my oil changed at walmart one time and the same day my car started acting up.. It turned out to be my alternator. Now I'm wondering if that had to do with it...

Tad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RadiantGirla &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I got my oil changed at walmart one time and the same day my car started acting up.. It turned out to be my alternator. Now I'm wondering if that had to do with it...</TD></TR></TABLE>

how was it acting up?

thing about me posting this,
I've got another alt from my original cx motor,
but I dont want to go thru the hassle of installing it if its just the wiring or some short or some other wierdness..

Tad

other thing is, I was under the impression alternators only work, or they dont,
shouldnt be any middle ground where it keeps the car "kinda charged"

could be wrong tho

JDMFreak

you can take it to autozone and they can put it to a test and that will tell for sure if your alt. is still ticking or not

Tad

yeh i kno,
i guess i'm just wondering if you guys know the limitations of the alt and related wiring,

can an oil spill really do damage?

Tad

had a buncha places look at the alt.
all said it was a-ok..

hah! so now i duno wtf!

B_CRUZ!

oil splashed on my old sohc alt on my 91 si and it shorted it. just my $0.02.

wilsel

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMFreak &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you can take it to autozone and they can put it to a test and that will tell for sure if your alt. is still ticking or not</TD></TR></TABLE>

You need to do this

You could have 1 diode burn out, and it will still charge the battery, but can cause other weird problems.

Sliced Beard

I will tell you your problem right now and the solution to the problem.

first...when you spilled oil on your alternator it created an extra for it to produce electricity which mad eht voltage regulator work harder......ok when this happened it caused your voltage regulator to start to go bad and now it is almost gone

a DEFINITE sign of the voltage regulator going bad is fluctuating lights (almost like a retarded strobe light that does nto work right) and another is when the alternator refuses to completely charge your battery properly and just barely creates enough voltage for the engine to run which creates drainage of the battery.

just replave the voltage regulator or replace teh entire altrnator for preventive maitenence and you will be fine

Tad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dirtyd463 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I will tell you your problem right now and the solution to the problem.

first...when you spilled oil on your alternator it created an extra for it to produce electricity which mad eht voltage regulator work harder......ok when this happened it caused your voltage regulator to start to go bad and now it is almost gone

a DEFINITE sign of the voltage regulator going bad is fluctuating lights (almost like a retarded strobe light that does nto work right) and another is when the alternator refuses to completely charge your battery properly and just barely creates enough voltage for the engine to run which creates drainage of the battery.

just replave the voltage regulator or replace teh entire altrnator for preventive maitenence and you will be fine </TD></TR></TABLE>

wooot!

Where's the voltage regulator? inside the alternator?
if so then i'll just swap out the whole thing.
how long to alternators usually last anyways? honda ones I mean.
because I have one that I pulled from my cx, was working fine, but it was at 150k miles.

TIA

The Mista Mike

So... can electricity flow through oil? That was my thought when I suggested the short.

RadiantGirla

Once it started to warm up if I came to a complete stop it would shake like crazy and turn off.. i'd have to put it in neutral (it was automatic) and keep pressing the gas to keep the rpms up so it wouldnt turn off...

Tad

hmm,
question!
assuming it was the alt that was at fault,
say I swapped it out.
currently my batt wont start the car,
if jumped, will the alt charge the battery back to good working(or at least good enuf) condition,
or do I need to go have the battery "recharged" ??

thanks

Sliced Beard

alwasy best to have the battery recharged....you may have ruined the battery buy letting it run dead

Tad

Fawwkk,
just replaced the entire alternator, and battery,
and wiped up as much oil as possible(original oil spill was a long time ago, but the valve cover gasket had a tear and was seeping clean oil, just did oilchange).

Went to start up the car, and.. NOTHING,
starter didnt even click or anything.

I have power to everything, lights, stereo, etc.
I noticed that the CEL and BATT lights would kinda start to glow alittle if I held the ignition on.. but real dim, then fade away.

I dont have a CEL holding on..
and whats wierd is when I try to jump the service connector, no CEL shows up AT ALL,
isnt it supposed to stay solidly on when jumped if you have no code present?? ? ...

jdmsiR20

hey... check the fuses ... you may have blown the "starter" fuse....

make sure to check the ones underneath the dash and hood. also, try to jump the car, with a known good battery. otherwise, you can narrow down the problem to the starter...

Sliced Beard

make shure your fuses aren't blown, main relay is good and that the two ground wires that attach to the thermostat housing are tight

Tad

starter works,
i bypassed the ignition and ran a wire directly to the starter from the batt,
it started up.

i'll check the fuses right now,
also I checked the volts on the batt before starting with it off.
12.7v

then when I got back after driving, with it on
11.4v

then off
12.3v

so its not charging the batt right.
alot of oil spilled right on the wiring right before the starter, right below the IM...

if I dont find any blown fuses.. could I need a new wiring harness?

Turbogixxer

Check your:

Battery termials and see if the are tight
check the alt connections

What brand ALt it is?

Tad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbogixxer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Check your:

Battery termials and see if the are tight
check the alt connections

What brand ALt it is? </TD></TR></TABLE>

batt terminals are on the bat fine,
alt is the 2nd alt, its a mitsu, 1st was a denso,
they both checked out good at kragen/pepboys/anotherkragen

note: i dont think there is a starter fuse.

Turbogixxer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">batt terminals are on the bat fine,
alt is the 2nd alt, its a mitsu, 1st was a denso,
they both checked out good at kragen/pepboys/anotherkragen

note: i dont think there is a starter fuse.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Here is the thing. Oil will kill a alt, but it will look fine. Also, OEM alt (denso, do not have to be from a dealer) work the best and I have never had a problem with them.

On to your starting starting issue:
check your starter see if it is getting power (s-termial and 12v power)

On the alt issue:
how are you testing it?

CivicVX94

I don't know **** about this but would like to, so BUMP someone help this man out!